Acting as liaison between employers, other value-added resources, and government agencies;

Providing direct assistance and support throughout the grant application process in a completely flexible manner.

Express Grant Program
Workforce Training Fund Express is a program designed for small employers and labor unions to quickly and easily provide training for employees. The program utilizes existing training courses where a pricing structure already exists. A company is eligible for the Express Grant if there are 100 or fewer employees in all locations in Massachusetts. The limit on Express training funds is $3,000 per trainee and a total of $15,000 per company within a 12-month period. Click here to apply for an Express Grant.

General Grant Program
Training grants are awarded to employers, employer organizations, labor organizations, and training providers. Companies of any size are eligible to apply. Training grants range from $2,000 to $250,000. Applications for up to $50,000 may be submitted at any time. Applications for over $50,000 must be submitted at specified times. The grant approval decisions will be made approximately 60 days after the application deadline.

The focus of training under the General program is:

Projects that will result in job retention, job growth or increased wages.

Projects where training would make a difference in the company's productivity, competitiveness, and ability to do business in Massachusetts.

Projects where the applicant has made a commitment to provide significant private investment in training for the duration of the grant, and after the grant has expired.

Technical Assistance Grants
Technical assistance grants range from $5,000 to $25,000. Different kinds of technical assistance can help in the design of successful training and education programs. Technical assistance elements should be tailored to meet the needs of the individual employer or group of employers/employees involved in this program. Activities common to a successful technical assistance effort may include:

Designing and/or applying training needs assessment for an employer, or group of employers/employees, at their request.

Planning for infrastructure needed to meet training requirements of standards such as ISO9000.

Hiring Incentive Program
The Hiring Incentive Training Grant Program is open to all employers. It provides training grants of up to $2,000 per employee and up to $30,000 a year per company. This program assists in paying training costs for newly hired employees who have been unemployed over a year and those who do not have a call-back date from their last employer.

Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), the Commonwealth Corporation and the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP) present workshops throughout the year designed to familiarize employers with the General Grant program of the Workforce Training Fund Program. Join us to learn the key to writing a successful application for a Workforce Training Grant.

Session Goals and Objectives:

Develop a competitive grant application, including recommended attachments to the application, and required supplementary documents;

Draft an initial description of one training component of your training plan, including how it is aligned with business needs and demonstrates a return on investment for both the employer and its employees;

Draft a typical training budget with the aid of a budget template and learn how to develop a satisfactory balance of grant funds requested and matching expenses;

Critical insight on defining a key business goal, a training objective, and a business measure of success; and

Checklist for information you’ll need to collect.

Please contact Bill Baldino at wbaldino@aimnet.org if you have questions about the Grant Writing Workshops.